[01/13/10 - 11:00 AM]PBS Honors the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day with a Week of Eco-Friendly ProgrammingApril 16-22 will feature new and encore programming leading up to the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

[via press release from PBS]

PBS HONORS THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF EARTH DAY WITH A WEEK OF ECO-FRIENDLY PROGRAMMING

April 16-22, 2010

Frog with bulging eyes.

Credit: Andrew Young

Los Angeles, CA: PBS/TCA Press Tour; January 13, 2010 -- PBS counts down to the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with new and encore programming leading up to Thursday, April 22, 2010.

New programming this week includes EARTH DAYS: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE (4/19). Director Robert Stone ("Oswald's Ghost," "Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst") traces the origins of the modern environmental movement through the eyes of nine Americans who propelled the movement from its beginnings in the 1950s to its moment of triumph in 1970 with the original Earth Day and to its status as a major political force in America.

Along with new programming, PBS is recycling some topical programs in celebration of Earth Day. NATURE offers an encore presentation of "Frogs: The Thin Green Line" (4/18), which profiles scientists who are racing to stop the massive die-off of frogs. NOVA examines California's aggressive pursuit of a sustainable energy future in "The Big Energy Gamble" (4/20).

Thousands of hours of PBS programming are available on the PBS Video Portal. The Video Portal has released a special collection of Earth Day programming called Be Green.The collection features more than 30 new and encore programs at www.pbs.org/begreen.

PBS KIDS� also celebrates Earth Day with "PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day," featuring themed episodes and Web content on water conservation, planting and growing, nature and recycling.

Beyond broadcast, PBS Teachers will host a webinar to discuss environmental curriculum and its effect on student health, attendance, learning, tests scores and preparedness for green jobs. PBS Teachers also offers an Earth Day Activity Pack for educators to use in the classroom or to post on their classroom, school or favorite social networking Web sites. The Activity Pack is designed for multiple grade levels and contains links to Earth Day-themed education resources and activities from PBS to support environmental awareness. The new PBS Teachers STEM Education Resource Center Web site contains science, technology, engineering and math educator resources including an online video collection that explores some of our iconic STEM related content for preK-12 educators.

Director Robert Stone traces the origins of the modern environmental movement through the eyes of nine Americans who propelled the movement from its beginnings in the 1950s.

INDEPENDENT LENS "Dirt!"

Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET

Farmers, physicists, church leaders, children, wine critics, anthropologists and activists talk about dirt � where it comes from, how we regard (or disregard) it, how it sustains us, the way it has become endangered and what we can do about it.

POV "Food, Inc."

Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET

How much do we know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families? Though our food appears the same � a tomato still looks like a tomato � it has been radically transformed. In POV's "Food, Inc.," producer-director Robert Kenner and investigative authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) lift the veil on the U.S. food industry, revealing surprising facts about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we may go from here.

ENCORE PROGRAMMING

NATURE "Frogs: The Thin Green Line"

Sunday, April, 18, 2010, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET

Large-scale die-offs of frogs around the world have prompted scientists to take desperate measures to try to save whatever populations they can.

PBS, with its 356 member stations, offers all Americans � from every walk of life � the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches more than 124 million people on-air and online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; hear diverse viewpoints; and take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS' broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS' premier children's TV programming and Web site, pbskids.org, are parents' and teachers' most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.